The Water We Swim In
We bring to China our view of the world and our place in it, our sense of “the way things ought to be,” our values and priorities. Through this lens, we try to make sense of a culture and people very different from ourselves.
Brent Fulton
Brent Fulton is the founder of ChinaSource.
Dr. Fulton served as the first president of ChinaSource until 2019. Prior to his service with ChinaSource, he served from 1995 to 2000 as the managing director of the Institute for Chinese Studies at Wheaton College. From 1987 to 1995 he served as founding US director of China Ministries International, and from 1985 to 1986 as the English publications editor for the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong Kong.
Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College.
An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. He is the author of China's Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden and co-authored China's Next Generation: New China, New Church, New World with Luis Bush.
Dr. Fulton and his wife, Jasmine, previously lived in Hong Kong from 2006 to 2017. They currently reside in northern California.
He is currently facilitating a network of member care professionals serving missionaries sent out from China. He also consults with other organizations on the impact of China's religious policy.
Latest
State Dominance of Religion
Surveying the fraught relationship between church and state in China, the late Chinese church historian Daniel Bays asserted that government control of religion has been a constant feature from Imperial times to the present.
Enduring Lessons for a Changing China
While honestly embracing their own evangelical legacy, with its imperative for gospel witness, the Mennonites also found in their heritage values of “hosting, listening, waiting, learning, inquiring, affirming.”
Beyond Suffering: China’s Resilient Christians
Beyond the story of suffering lies the sacred narrative of how the church continues to be the church.
Remembering Martha
She lifted others, not for recognition, but for the sake of God’s kingdom.
The End of Persecution
The persecution story may be unending, but neither is persecution the end of the story.
Metaphorically Speaking
Metaphors have the power to expand our imaginations or limit our thinking. May the lived experience of China’s Christians, both inside and outside China, inspire new images of what is possible in Christ’s kingdom.
Scattered to Sow
The role of China’s church in world evangelization has more to do with intentionality of heart than with getting to any one particular destination, whether Jerusalem or someplace else.
The Elusive Path to Religious Freedom
International human rights lawyer Knox Thames lays out a vision for how governments, legislatures, NGOs, and religious leaders can work together to combat religious persecution globally.
Stories You May Have Missed
In this era of development, China’s Christians are telling new stories, some of which challenge our familiar narratives about China and its church. Are we listening?
What’s in a Name?
Sinicization, Chinafication, or Zhongguohua? Defining the term in question goes to the heart of understanding China’s current policy and its effect upon religious believers.
Unpacking the Shifting Narrative of Christianity in China
Sinicization, Chinafication, or Zhongguohua? Defining the term in question goes to the heart of understanding China’s current policy and its effect upon religious believers.